Lots and Lots of Rellie Fluff
by Vulpixels
Summary: Hi. So this is a series of fluffy, Rellie one-shots that may or may not be linked to one another in some way. Come here after a bad day. It'll cheer you up. It will be filled with little ideas that I've had whilst writing a fic that just won't fit into that particular story, so they end up here. No death or bites here either. Just happiness and rainbows. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1- Ellie Williams vs The World

The music was blaring from Ellie's headphones, but it did nothing to cover the terrible crashes of thunder outside as rain splattered onto her window so hard it looked like it might break. She curled up tighter underneath the threadbare blanket, for once wishing that she had a roommate to share her terror with- or at least take comfort in their presence- she would never let anyone know that she was scared of thunder, of all things. The flashes of lighting illuminated her room sporadically, casting shadows on the walls. Ellie shrunk backwards against the wall, closing her eyes and murmuring to herself.  
><em>I am not afraid. I am not afraid.<br>_She chanted it like a mantra as the waves of thunder rolled over the roof, until it sounded like it was right overhead. A particularly loud crash caused her to jump up, hitting her head off of the bunk above and topple onto the ground. She stood, rubbing her hip where she had landed and deliberating for a moment before quietly opening her door and taking off down the corridor.  
>"Riley?" She whispered, peeking into the darkened room. There was no reply, but Ellie could see Liz, Riley's roommate, sprawled across the top bunk. The bottom bunk, however, was empty. She crossed the room quietly, reaching out to touch the sheets. Still warm. She was around here somewhere. She turned back to the door and left, slightly disappointed and more scared than she had been before she went looking for Riley. When she reached her room again, she had to hold in a yelp of surprise as she saw a figure sitting on her bed. There was a second of silence before she recognised the familiar silhouette.<br>"Riley?" She whispered.  
>"Nope. It's Corporal Dickhead, at your service m'am." She said, slightly sarcastically, but Ellie could hear the smile in her voice. Another crack of thunder and a flash of lighting darted across the room, and Ellie flinched. She hoped Riley didn't notice- but, in true Riley fashion, she did.<br>"Are you scared of thunderstorms, Ellie?" She asked. Ellie was going to deny this, but she realised that there was no point in hiding it. She would find out eventually.  
>"Yeah." She said, slightly ashamed. She expected some sort of sarcastic remark or joke at her expense, but instead, Riley said the words that she least expected.<br>"Come here." She said, opening her arms and pulling Ellie into a hug. Ellie desperately tried to ignore the fact that her cheeks were tinged pink, or that her heart was fluttering against her chest like a bird trapped in a cage. She held on tightly, savouring one of the rare moments where Riley wasn't the total badass that she had come to know. Although she loved the regular Riley, it was nice to see what she was like with her guard down. It was nice being the only person to see her like that, too. She had pushed her feelings for Riley away, locking them away in some distant corner to be examined later, but somehow they were forcing themselves to the forefront of her mind. She was suddenly aware that she had been hugging Riley for a very long time, and she jerked away. How long was a platonic hug supposed to last? Would she find notice? Could Riley hear Ellie's heart thumping as loudly as she could?  
>"Thanks." Ellie said sincerely, staring at the floor. It was a good thing that it was dark. Riley couldn't see the crimson colour of Ellie's cheeks, or the way her pupils were dilated. Ellie was sure that would have given the game away. "So... why were you in here?" Ellie asked, trying to recover from the strong emotions she had just felt.<br>"I couldn't sleep. It was too loud."  
>"Me neither. Do you- do you wanna sleep here tonight? I have my walkman. We can share the earphones." Riley seemed oblivious to Ellie's stuttering as she mentally slapped herself.<em> Shit,<em> she thought, _not now, Ellie. _  
>"Sure." Riley replied. making herself comfortable under the blankets. Ellie crawled in beside her, reaching under her pillow for her walkman. "What's in there?" Riley asked curiously.<br>"A tape I found." Riley just nodded, putting in one earphone and listening for a moment before skipping forwards. She continued to do this before Ellie stopped her. "Stop it, you're running the batteries down! What are you even doing, Riley?"  
>"Are these all <em>love songs?<em>" She asked, frowning.  
>"Yeah. Why? I didn't choose them, Riley."<br>"But you _listen_ to them."  
>"So your point is...?"<br>"You are such a fucking sap." This earned Riley a hard shove, and she landed with a muted thud on the carpeted floor. "Ow." She complained, climbing back into bed and burrowing under the covers.  
>"Do you want to listen to them or not?" Ellie asked, a hint of playful annoyance leaking through her tone.<br>"Fine," Riley agreed begrudgingly, "but I gotta get you some new music."  
>"Fine by me." Ellie agreed, yawning and rolling onto her side. She was asleep within minutes, even with the thunder booming outside of her window.<p>

Ellie awoke to the morning light filtering through the grimy windows. It was a Saturday, which meant that there was no military drills. She could lie here in bed with Riley all day, if she wanted to. Riley was still sleeping, her head nestled in the crook of Ellie's neck, her arms slung protectively over Ellie's body. Ellie found it amusing, the way that she was so tough when she was awake, but when she was asleep, she was reminiscent of a koala bear the way she clung to her. She eventually drifted back to sleep, and when she awoke a second time, Riley was not sleeping still. Ellie found herself sprawled across Riley's lap as she casually leaned against the wall, watching a DVD on a portable player that they had found. It was a lucky find, they'd got it at the mall all boxed up with the charger and everything. They were constantly on the hunt for new movies to watch, but so far Ellie's favourite was Scott Pilgrim. She'd already read the comic, so when she found the movie, she was so excited that she nearly pissed herself. Of course, she didn't. Even though she didn't understand it all (what the fuck is ) she loved it because it reminded her of a video game. Coincidentally, it was Riley's favourite too, but only because of the 'killer-tunes', as she had phrased it. Either way, it was a win-win situation for them both, and upon discovering that it was playing when she awoke, they sat in companionable silence as they watched it for the hundredth time this month. When it was over, Riley got up to leave, gathering her things and standing from the bed. Ellie was almost disappointed.  
>"Riley?" Ellie asked cautiously.<br>"Yeah...?" Riley replied, somewhat sceptically, suspicious of Ellie's tone.  
>"Can you stay, just for a little while longer?" she asked, doing her best puppydog eyes. Riley deliberated for a moment, before plopping back down onto the bed.<br>"I guess." She said, grinning. Ellie smiled back, leaning against Riley again as the opening scene of Juno started to play.  
>"No." Riley said, folding the screen back down. Riley hated the film because the soundtrack was sucky, apparently. Ellie secretly disagreed, but she relented, carefully putting the DVD back into it's case. Riley didn't mind Juno too much, she pretended to hate it more than she did- the actress looked too much like Ellie, it was... distracting to her. She tried not to think about <em>why<em> it was distracting, and focused on choosing another film. Eventually, they settled on Home Alone. They'd never had Christmas, so it was a little strange, but nice all the same. This year, they planned to have a small party (consisting of only two people) on Christmas. They had even managed to scrounge up some tinsel. It was a little early yet, but Ellie was certain that they'd be able to find some sort of a tree in the next few weeks, before the snowy season rolled back around. Until then, they'd settle for watching little snow pixels blowing across a screen, and enjoy each other's company. They watched films all day, before falling asleep together, a tangle of limbs, various chords and wires from headphones or chargers and even some tinsel. When morning broke, and officials came around waking everybody up, they got caught in the middle of their 'slumber party'. It earned them 2 weeks of washing up duty, but it was worth it. Lieutenant Morris had finally given in and said that they could share a room- they'd been caught like this so many times that it was pointless trying to keep them apart. Kitchen duty was a small price to pay for a slumber-party every night, and mall trips together that didn't have to be planned, and the occasional rooftop water fight. All in all, everything was good. It was, as Ellie had put it, better than good. And hopefully, that would be how it stayed.

**A/N: Hi. Hope you enjoyed that- this 'story' isn't going to necessarily be continued from the last chapter- if I do end up updating this, it will be another fluffy one-shot with NO MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH BECAUSE THAT SHIT GETS ME. Just think of this as my Rellie folder of fluffy love and joy. Come here after a bad day. There'll probably be something new in here to cheer you up. Anyway, review, maybe? It would make me really happy?**

**Until next time!  
>-Vulpixels ^_^<strong>


	2. Chapter 2- Shake it (Like a Polaroid)

"Ellie, c'mon! Hurry up already!"

Riley's voice echoed through the mall as they raced towards the small tunnel that they had to crawl through to get inside. Their shoes squeaked against the wet tile, the water splashing up onto their jeans and they ran through the puddles. Riley turned to face Ellie upon hearing a soft thud and some choice words.  
>"Ow, fuck!" Ellie cursed, standing slowly and rubbing her knee. She was now covered in water, her shirt soaked through and sticking to her skin. Riley looked to the ground, her lips pressed together as she tried desperately to hold in her giggles. "Riley, it's not fucking funny!" Ellie said, shoving Riley as her shoulders shook from silent laughter.<br>"Are... are you alright?" She gasped, still snickering.  
>"I'm fine." Ellie said sourly, before pushing past Riley and walking ahead. Riley jogged to keep up with her.<br>"Come on, Ellie. It was funny." Riley said, nudging her shoulder against Ellie's playfully. Ellie frowned slightly, but she couldn't hold her expression for long before a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.  
>"That's my girl." Riley said, smiling back. They walked in silence for a while, Ellie trying not to think to hard about being Riley's girl, but failing, as usual. The result was a slightly awkward silence between them and some very pink cheeks. When they finally reached the familiar tunnel, Riley began to lift the iron bar holding up the car. It wasn't the safest route, but it was the only way in. She grunted from exertion as she lifted the bar, before dropping it and letting out a breath that she had been holding. "A little help, maybe?" She said, motioning for Ellie to join her. Ellie jerked out of her thoughts as she was addressed by Riley.<br>"Huh? Yeah, sure." Ellie said, walking towards the tunnel. With some effort, they had managed to get the car out of the way. "Ugh. I hate crawling through here. It always feels like we're gonna get crushed." She said, distaste in her voice.  
>"I'll go first." Riley said, crouching and wriggling through the tiny gap. She called to Ellie when they had reached the other side, and Ellie grunted in response, holding her breath as she edged carefully through the tight space. When she saw Riley through the gap on the other side, she sped up a little, and she eventually made it out, unscathed. "Hey Ellie, come over here!" Riley called from the other side of what Ellie presumed once was a food court.<br>"What?" She asked, jogging over to her friend. Riley rubbed the grime from the window she was peering through with her hand.  
>"Look- it's a music store." Riley said, smiling. "I can finally get you some new tunes." Ellie smiled back at Riley, who was still staring through the window.<br>"How have we never found this place?" she asked grabbing Ellie's hand and pulling her towards the door.  
>"Riley, we gotta be careful. There could be infected in there." Riley pushed the door open as she began to speak, strolling confidently into the store.<br>"Chill, Ellie, we've been here a thousand-" Her sentence ended abruptly in a shriek of surprise as a runner leapt from the shadows, sending Riley to the floor and her gun skittering from her hand, bouncing across the linoleum and out of reach. Ellie was fast, pulling out her knife and stabbing the creature in the neck. It slumped, gurgling as the blood pooled around it.  
>"No bites?" Ellie asked, standing slowly and wiping her face. The blood on her hands left streaks across her cheeks.<br>"No bites." Riley replied, her heart pumping fast as she struggled to stand straight. Ellie offered a hand to steady her, before she pulled Riley in for a hug. Riley was surprised, but it was comforting. She hugged back tightly, burying her face in Ellie's hair. They stayed like that for a moment, and when they broke apart they both felt considerably better.  
>"I should listen to you more often, huh?" Riley said, grinning despite the close call they'd just had. "Let's explore this store some more." They turned their flashlights on as they looked through the stacks of CDs.<br>"It's kind of sad, isn't it?" Ellie said, picking up a vinyl and turning it over in her hands.  
>"What is?" Riley asked, turning to face Ellie.<br>"All this music with nobody around to listen to it."  
>"Have you been reading poetry again?" Riley asked, teasingly.<br>"Shut up." Ellie said, putting the record down. "Hey, do you think the DVD player we found plays CDs too?" Ellie said, surprised tat she'd only just thought of it.  
>"Maybe. It's worth a try, right?" Riley said, walking towards the CDs and picking up a few that she liked the look of. She chose based off of the song titles, whereas Ellie chose based on the cover art. So far, they each had three that they liked. Riley had chosen an album called Black Holes and Revelations by a band called Muse, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out by Panic! At The Disco (which she thought was a ridiculously long name for a band) and the soundtrack from Ellie's favourite movie, Juno. Even though the soundtrack sucked, Ellie liked it- she'd give it to her later. Ellie had chosen albums that had pretty pictures of beautiful women or scenes with nature on the front- One was called Born to Die, which Ellie had thought was strangely poetic and very fitting, considering the current state that the world was in. She had two more in her bag, one was called Meds, it had a beautifully illustrated front cover, with a huge white tiger and a forest and a bunch of people, and the other only had one song on it, but Ellie liked the title too much- even though the cover was weird. It was called Sea of Love by Cat Power (which was an awesome name, in her opinion) and she had found it right at the back of the shop, where lot of the CDs were broken beyond repair, or so scratched that they weren't silver anymore. She tucked them carefully into her backpack, and they left the shop together.<br>"Where to now, m'lady?" Riley asked, offering Ellie her arm. Ellie took it, pulling her towards Winston's tent.  
>"I wanna go see Princess- I brought some apples for her that I stole from the kitchen." Stealing food wasn't exactly difficult- they had washing up duty every day of the week for at least another month. It was punishment for the time Riley got caught in Ellie's room, but Ellie didn't mind too much- Riley was now her roommate, so it all turned out okay.<br>"Okay," Riley said, chuckling to herself, "I've got a 'present' for Winston, too."  
>"It's not a present if you want something in return, Riley." Ellie said, smirking. Riley just laughed as they made their way over to Winston's tent. He must have heard them, because he was already stood outside waiting when they arrived. he greeted them gruffly, as usual, but her perked up when Riley pulled the brown paper bag from her pack and handed it to him. His eyes lit up as he unwrapped the bottle filled with brown liquid, like a kid opening his presents at Christmas- well, from what they'd seen of Christmas, it went something like that.<br>"This is a good find you've gotten here, Riley. Must've been expensive, back in the day." He said, his southern accent prominent.  
>"Uh-huh. I stole it right from underneath Corporal Dickhead's nose while he was sleeping." Winston grunted in response.<br>"What do you want in return?" He said grumpily, knowing that Riley was not a generous person. There was a price for everything with her- well, unless it was for Ellie. He wished that they'd just kiss and get it over with. Those lovesick, puppydog eyes they gave each other were enough to make him puke.  
>"Walk with me." She said, motioning for Winston to follow her. Ellie took a step forwards to go with them, but Riley held out her hand.<br>"Nope. This is top-secret."  
>"But-" Ellie protested.<br>"Nope." Riley said before walking away, Winston in tow. "I'll be back soon," she called over her shoulder, "Go feed princess."  
>"Ugh. Fine." Ellie muttered to nobody in particular as she walked over towards the mare. "Hey girl," She said, reaching out to stroke her neck, "I brought you a treat." Princess' ears pricked at the word, and she began snuffling at Ellie's pocket. "Hey! Wait a minute." She said, gently pushing the horse's head away from her as she reached into her bag. She rummaged for a moment, Princess growing impatient, before she found the apple at the bottom. The mare snorted in anticipation as Ellie placed the apple on her palm and fed it to her. She chewed for a moment, and when she was done, she immediately went back to sniffing Ellie's pocket. "There's no more, you greedy horse." she said, chuckling slightly. She stroked her face, and Princess seemed to get the message and went back to eating the hay. Ellie climbed up onto the bar that princess was kept behind and leant against the wall, hugging her knees. Where was Riley? She sighed, the seconds dragging by as she awaited her friend's return. Left alone with her thoughts, Ellie was forced to confront the feelings she had but didn't understand. She knew that she liked Riley. She knew that Riley liked her, at least on a friendship level. What bothered her is that she also knew that she might be falling in love with Riley. Her best friend. She also knew that this was a terrible thing that was bound to ruin their friendship and she should do her best not to let it show. Ellie tipped her head back, letting it rest against the wall. She groaned as she battled internally with herself.<br>"What am I gonna do?" she muttered to Princess, who shook her head and snorted in reply.  
>"What are you gonna do about what?" Riley asked, walking towards her friend. When she noticed the look on her face, Riley became slightly more serious. "Hey," She said softly, "Are you okay?"<br>"Yeah, yeah- I'm fine. What was that about?" Ellie asked, trying to draw attention away from herself.  
>"Well, I guess we all have our secrets, right?" Riley said, winking at Ellie and taking her hand as she hopped down from the counter. "Come on, where next?"<br>"What about Ban Utfiter?" Ellie asked. Ban Utfiter was a clothing store, but the sign had broken, and the only letters left spelt Ban Utfiter, so that's what they christened it.  
>"Sure. I have something I wanna show you there anyways."<p>

When they made it to the store, it was almost morning. The sky had changed from dark purple to a dusky blue colour, visible through the broken glass roof overhead.  
>'We should hurry." Ellie said, glancing upwards.<br>"We've got time." Riley responded, walking through the doors. Ellie followed her, closing them behind her.  
>"What is it you wanted to show me?" Ellie asked, curiosity taking over.<br>"Oh- follow me." Riley replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind her. They ran up two or three sets of stairs in the store before they reached the top, and Riley went into the stockroom at the back. She emerged holding a small plastic box in her hands.  
>"What is that?" Ellie asked. Riley fiddled with the back, inserting something into a small space at the back before pressing a button- a small flash went off. Ellie stared for a moment realisation hitting her.<br>"_What is that?"_ She asked, excited. Riley just held it up to her face as she peered through the lens. "Fuck you, you found a camera?" Ellie asked, grinning widely. Riley nodded.  
>"Come here, let's take a picture together." She said, positioning the camera to get them both in shot. "Come closer, you're not in it." Ellie scooted closer, wrapping her arms around Riley and hugging her from behind. She rested her chin on Riley's shoulder, smiling widely as the flash went off. It was genuine smile, partly from the happiness of finding a camera, and partly from being so close to Riley. A slip of rectangular paper popped out of the bottom, but it was almost blank, just a faint outline of them visible.<br>"Aw, damn. It's broken." Ellie said sadly.  
>"No, dumbass, it just has to develop." Riley handed Ellie the photo, and Ellie sat and watched it for the next ten minutes, fascinated.<br>"Woah. This is so cool." was all she said until it was finished. The photo turned out nicely. Ellie tucked it carefully into her pocket before they took off, rushing out of the mall and back into the zone before time was up and they'd get caught. Again. Thankfully, they made it in time, and they even managed to get a few hours sleep before military drills. The next day, Riley fell asleep at breakfast and Ellie almost did in her history lesson (which were almost always about the outbreak), but they made it through the day and spent the next night fast asleep. Soon enough, Friday night rolled around and they could stay up as late as they wanted- which was when they discovered that CDs did, in fact, play on the DVD player. They stayed up until 3am, dancing, even though they argued about which CD was best.

**A/N: Hi. If you can guess what Ban Utfiter was called before the sign got destroyed, I'll give you a cookie through the computer(even though it's pretty easy to guess). Also, we will eventually find out what Riley talked to Winston about, so don't worry. I have found a sneaky way to get some affection in there too, so that will be showing up soon- some real cute fluff that will make you want to squeal like a fangirl. This story is connected to the other chapters, I have decided, but it won't follow some dramatic plot line with huge character development and OC's and death. Sorry, if that's what you like. It's just fluff, because it makes me happy to read and write. Finally, if you were wondering about the last chapter when they're talking about Scott Pilgrim and it says (what the fuck is *blank*) it's because I put Amazon . ca in there and it was a link so they removed it. I don't know if it's been fixed yet, so I'm here to tell you in case you got confused. Anyway-  
>Until next time!<strong>  
><strong>-Vulpixles ^_^<strong>


	3. Chapter 3- Empty Bottles

"Bingo!" Riley shouted from inside Winston's tent. Ellie turned back towards her, leaving the shop that she was searching. It had already been picked clean, like most of the shops in the mall- but there was some shit that nobody had though to pick up during the outbreak still left lying around, for example, the book Ellie had just found underneath a shelf. She tucked it into her bag as she walked over to Riley, who was holding some sort of bottle in her hand.  
>"What is that?" Ellie asked, squinting at the liquid sloshing around inside.<br>"I have no idea. Smells like wine."  
>"Oh." Ellie said. She didn't really like any alcohol much, but as long it wasn't gin or rum or some kind of spirit, she could tolerate it. Riley, on the other hand, would drink anything she could get her hands on- even if it tasted like total shit to Ellie. Riley put it away in her pack. Ellie supposed that they would share it later, with it being Friday and all. They could afford to be a little drunk.<br>"Ready to go?" Riley asked, glancing up at the sky to check if it was getting light.  
>"Yeah, I guess so.'" Ellie replied. "Where's Winston?"<br>"On a top-secret mission. Or lying drunk in an alley somewhere, probably. But I like to think he's doing what I asked."  
>"And this," Ellie said, gesturing towards the bottle, "is how you repay him? By taking his wine?"<br>"What he doesn't know won't hurt him."  
>"Yeah, whatever." Ellie said, smiling at the ground and knocking her shoulder against Riley's. "Come on." They left the mall through the tunnel (or as Ellie called it, the 'fucking death tunnel') and raced back to their room across the rooftops of the city. Naturall, Riley won.<p>

When they arrived, they were both out of breath, but Riley still managed to gloat through her heavy breathing.  
>"Boosh! I just fucked you up!" she panted.<br>"Shut up." Ellie said, shoving her lightly.  
>"Yeah, whatever, loser, now I get to choose the music." Ellie just groaned in response, plopping onto her bed with a sigh. Riley promptly sat down next to her after sorting out the DVD player so that it was playing a CD of hers. She reached into her pack and pulled out the bottle. "Want some?" She asked, pulling out the cork and tossing it to the side. Ellie contemplated for a moment before reaching out and grabbing the bottle from Riley's hand. "It's not beer." Riley said, surprised by Ellie's response to the offer.<br>"I know." Ellie said, taking the bottle from Riley's hand and sipping it. She held in a cough, and it burned as it slid down her throat, but she took another sip. The more she drank, the better it tasted to her. They passed the bottle between them until it was empty, and they were left a giggling, hiccoughing mess on the floor of their bedroom.  
>"Wait wait wait," Ellie said, holding up her hands. "I have one: Did you hear about the guy who's right side was cut off?" Her words were slurring as she tried to remember the joke.<br>"No?" Riley responded, just slightly less drunk than Ellie.  
>"He's all right now." Ellie said, between fits of giggles.<br>"I don't get it." Riley muttered, her face scrunched up in confusion.  
>"He's <em>all right?<em> Because his ri- oh. I think I messed that one up."  
>"Uh-huh." Ellie's laughter faded and soon they were sitting in silence, Ellie sprawled on the carpet and Riley leaning against the foot of the bed. Ellie's skin was washed pale in the moonlight from the window, her freckles barely visible. Riley tried not to think about how pretty she was, but she was drunk, her mind was slow and her heart definitely wasn't listening to her.<br>"Riley?" Ellie spoke quietly, facing away from her friend.  
>"Mmmm?"<br>"Come here a sec." Riley got up, the floorboards creaking a little as she crossed the room.  
>"What?"<br>"Sit down." Ellie said, patting the floor next to her. Riley sat down with a huff beside her, stretching out before getting comfy on the floor.  
>"What is it?" Riley asked curiously as she looked at Ellie's face, which was growing more serious by the second.<br>"I- it doesn't matter."  
>"Ellie, c'mon. You can't do that."<br>"Nope."  
>"<em>Ellie..." <em>Riley pleaded, staring into her eyes and making the cutest face she could. Ellie tried to keep a straight face, but it was pointless. Trying to go against Riley was like swimming against the tide.  
>"Okay. Well... I... I-" She stuttered, trying to get the words out, but each sentence she formed in her mind stuck in her throat.<br>"What is it? Are you going to tell me you're pregnant or something?" Riley joked. Ellie reddened, ducking her head.  
>"No, that's not it. Look, Riley, it really doesn't matter." She said, playing with a loose thread on her shirt. Riley put her hand under Ellie's chin, pulling it up so that their eyes would meet.<br>"Ellie," Riley said, staring into her eyes, "Tell me. Please." By this point, Ellie was blushing profusely. She looked away, but her eyes widened in surprise when her lips were met with Riley's, her words dying in her throat as she sat frozen in shock. It was a short kiss, but Ellie felt something different- maybe it was the alcohol burning in her stomach. Maybe it was... something new. There was no hesitation when Ellie kissed her for a second time. She tasted of whisky and salt and something else that Ellie couldn't pinpoint, but it definitely tasted good. They broke apart, cheeks flushed.  
>"I... what..." Ellie said, quietly, staring at the ground again.<br>"I think I love you, Ellie." Riley said, her words slurring slightly. She smiled a little, and Ellie smiled too. They fell asleep leaning against each other, sprawled across the carpet with the moonlight flooding in through the open curtains. When they awoke the next morning with pounding headaches, neither had any memories of the previous night- or at least, that's what they told each other. Ellie was lying of course, every moment was burned into her mind. But she kept that to herself, for now. It would keep her going when she was scrubbing the toilet floors with a toothbrush for being caught with alcohol.

**A/N: Told you I'd sneak some fluff in there! This way, it doesn't mess with the story too much. Sorry it took so long to update- I'm trying, I swear, but I have a lot of art coursework to do and I have a biology exam next wednesday so I'm doing a lot of revision. Anyway, you guys don't want to hear about that. If you have tumblr, follow me, I'll post when I update, and I'm gonna put a link in my bio sometime. Also, just a reminder, if you review as a guest user, I can't reply, but to those of you who guessed, yes, the shop was Urban Outfitters. And to the person who asked, yes, those are my favourite movies. Also including Inception, Whip It, Smart People, Practical Magic and The East. Seriously, watch them. Especially The East. I will marry Izzy/Katie one day (and if you've seen it, firstly congratulations, and secondly, you'll probably know why I'm forever sobbing about that.)**  
><strong>Okay. This has been an exceptionally long AN, so I'll let you go now. If you've read all of this, add 'Kool Katz' somewhere in you're review, because then I'll know that a) You're awesome, and b) That you love kitties as much as me :3**

**Until next time!**  
><strong>-Vulpixels ^_^<strong>


	4. Chapter 4- Poky-mon

Ellie stared at the small, plush rabbit she held in her hand, studying it carefully. It was exactly the same as when she had last seen it- just slightly more dirty, and the hole in his ear was bigger. She poked her pinky through it like she used to, but her finger was a lot smaller then- it barely fit comfortably now.  
>"Where did you even find this, Riley?" Ellie asked. Riley always had her confused, amazed or seriously pissed off. Or blushing (although she tried to forget it).<br>"I did some digging, called in a few favours." Riley said nonchalantly, but secretly she was very proud of herself for finding this god-forsaken toy lying long forgotten in Ellie's old bag.  
>"This is amazing, Riley. I wish you'd stop doing nice things. It's weird. Plus, I can't ever repay you for this, on top of the book you found me."<br>"You want me to stop?" Riley asked, concerned. This wasn't going as well as she'd planned.  
>"No- no. Well, I mean, if you want to stop- I just- what I'm trying to say-"<br>"You mean thank you."  
>"Yeah. Thanks." Ellie replied, smiling at the teeny rabbit clutched in her hand, before hugging Riley so tightly that Ellie swore she heard Riley's ribcage crack.<br>"What was that for?" She asked, rubbing her sides but smiling nonetheless.  
>"It's because I... think you're awesome."<br>"You know it." Riley responded, smirking. Ellie decided against saying 'it's because I love you' at the last minute. That was _far_ too close to her actual feelings for her to say it out loud.  
>"I actually have something for you, too." Ellie mumbled, rooting around in her pack, her arm hidden by the dirty canvas fabric.<br>"Oh?" Riley questioned as she watched Ellie curiously.  
>"Hold on... One second..." She spoke, her voice muffled by the bag she had now stuck her head inside. "I can't see it anywhere."<br>"Hurry up! Can't you just tip out your bag or something?" Riley was tapping her foot impatiently.  
>"No! You'll see it!" Ellie replied, only her hair was visible from where Riley was sitting. Riley only groaned in response before kicking her feet up and lying across Ellie's bed, her arm behind her head. She closed her eyes and yawned.<br>"Wake me when you've found it."  
>"Aha!" Ellie said triumphantly, emerging with messy hair from the depths of her rucksack.<br>"What is that?" Riley said, squinting at the colourful object clutched in Ellie's left hand.  
>"You'll see. I have to put in the batteries first though."<br>"Batteries, huh?"  
>"Yup." Ellie said with a smile as she clicked the cover back into place. She had taken the batteries out of her walkman for this, but she would never tell Riley. That would give away everything- Riley knew how much Ellie loved that thing. "Here." She passed the mysterious object to her before plopping onto the bed beside her. Riley examined it for a moment before realisation hit her.<br>"You. Did. Not." She said, looking up at Ellie with disbelief in her eyes.  
>"I totally did."<br>"No way._ No way."  
>"Uh-huh. <em>Am I the best friend you ever had or what?"  
>"Or what." Riley scoffed, but there was a smile behind her playful mocking. Ellie frowned, shoving Riley off of her bed before catching a glimpse of Riley's face and bursting into laughter.<br>"S-sorry-" Ellie spluttered, pressing her lips together in an attempt to hold in her laughter. She didn't keep it in for long, her lip quivering as Riley grumbled.  
>"Anyway, thanks." Riley said, still annoyed by Ellie's muffled giggling but she was happy enough with her present to let it slide.<br>"You're welcome." Ellie smiled, reaching out a hand to pull Riley back onto the bed. Riley took it, however begrudgingly, and flopped down beside her friend. "Turn it on! Look what's inside."  
>"Okay, okay. Calm down." Riley flicked the small switch on the gameboy she held in her hands, and the screen flickered for a moment, before the words 'GAMEBOY-nintendo' flashed across the screen in rainbow colours. After a few seconds, a new image appeared, some blue clouds and a bird flying across the sky.<br>"What the fuck is poky-mon?" Riley asked, looking back up at Ellie from the screen. She shrugged in reply.  
>"Press start, Riley."<br>"Where's start?" Riley replied, turning the grubby yellow gameboy over in her hands and searching the back for the start button. Ellie leaned over and plucked from Riley's grasp. "Hey!" She protested, but her grumbling was soon silenced by Ellie's hand over her mouth.  
>"Shut up and watch, okay?" Riley couldn't speak, so she groaned instead, rolling her eyes, but she stayed quiet anyway. Ellie pressed the small round button labelled 'START' on the front, and the bird flew off of the screen and into the opening sequence. As the words 'Game Freak Presents...' rolled over the black screen while some upbeat, tinny music played in the background. Ellie watched in fascination, her eyes wide and hopeful. Riley watched Ellie with a smile. Her face lit up at the prospect of playing a video game. Riley was trying not to notice how Ellie looked so different when she was excited. Young, vulnerable, and of course, beautiful- as she always looked, especially to Riley.<br>"Riley." Ellie said, waving her hand in front of her friend's face.  
>"Huh?"<br>"You were staring."  
>"Oh." She quickly turned her attention back to the screen, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. She rarely blushed, but she was blessed with dark skin that would mostly hide the pink in her cheeks from Ellie.<br>"What should I press?" Ellie asked, They were at a menu that said 'CONTINUE/NEW GAME'  
>"Press new game." A warning message appeared that read 'WARNING- IF YOU BEGIN A NEW GAME, YOUR OLD SAVE DATA WILL BE ERASED. IS THIS OK?'. Ellie felt a twinge of guilt as she pressed YES and deleted the previous owner's game. It didn't help when the thought crossed her mind that they were either dead, infected, or a sixty year old, lonely survivor. She shook of her sadness quickly though as she read the dialogue aloud to Riley, and soon, they were engrossed in a fictional world of magical creatures and cute pixel houses. Ellie liked all of the Pokémon except one. Parasect was an insect with fungi on his back and no eyes. He reminded her of the real world too much, so whenever they came across him, they battled him until he died. The victory music played, and some text appeared at the bottom of the screen. 'THE WILD PARASECT FAINTED.'<br>"What?" Riley said, frowning at the screen, "He only f_ainted? _That hit was enough to kill a person, and it didn't even kill an insect?"  
>"Well, it's a kid's game, and kids didn't see death back then."<br>"Still, come on. Our little Quil-whatever should've taken him down."  
><em>"Quilava."<br>_"Yeah, that. She is a total badass."  
>"It's a he."<br>"_She's _a she."  
>"Okay, whatever, Riley." Ellie turned her attention back to the game in her hands, but her mind was far from focused on the most effective moves. The memories from last friday were demanding her attention, and the image of the drunken kiss they'd shared was burned into her brain tissue, etched into her mind and it was becoming difficult to hide this from Riley. Riley didn't remember it, but Ellie couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or not. The words were out of Ellie's mouth before she could stop them.<br>"Riley, do you remember last Friday?" She blurted, then tried to hide her blush by tipping her head down and allowing her hair to flop in her face. Riley was silent for a moment, staring intently at her hands clasped in her lap before looking back up and tucking Ellie's loose fringe behind her ear, letting her hand linger on her cheek for a moment before awkwardly pulling it back to join her other hand in her lap.  
>"No." Riley lied.<br>"Well- well we-"  
>"I know." She said, no longer joking.<br>"I'm sorry, Riley, I-"  
>"Don't be." Riley cut in. Ellie was about to protest, apologise more but she was interrupted again, this time with Riley's lips on hers instead of words. And Ellie's heart melted and and froze at the same time. For the first time in her life, Ellie felt like someone actually loved her- and for the first time in her life, Ellie loved someone else unconditionally. She was overwhelmed by this new emotion, but as she kissed Riley, her heart fluttering in her chest, she allowed herself one moment to let her guard down, to be completely honest with another person - and it was wonderful. It only lasted a few seconds, but those few seconds were better than Ellie's whole life. She felt as though she was finally wanted by someone other than her old rabbit toy lying forgotten again at the foot of her bed. The gameboy tumbled out of her grasp and onto the floor as she reached up to Riley's face. This Riley, the kind, thoughtful, honest Riley was all hers. There was no chance in hell that Ellie was going to share.<p>

**Hello again, friends. I'm afraid that this is where we stray from canon. Hope you don't mind, but I'm not into that arguing stuff. Honestly I was going to start a new fic for my other ideas and end this one but I think I'll just weave it into this story instead. If you'd rather I started a new fic then let me know. Also, I know everybody says this but I really do get so happy when I get a review, it's like 'oh you care so much that you take time out to tell me that you care' and if that's not the most adorable thing then I don't know what is okay (p.s. You guys are the BEST readers. Unbelievably, I've not had any negative reviews yet. Also apologies for the occasional typo. It can't be helped, as you know, I have no beta. Anyway, that's all from me, folks.)**

**Until next time!**

**-Vulpixels ^_^**


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